Blaine Gabbert beat Colin Kaepernick to the punch, and the swirl of conspiracy theories surrounding Kaepernick’s unemployment has picked up pace.

Gabbert, who lost his job to Kaepernick last year after going 1-4 in the 49ers’ first five games, struck a one-year deal with the Cardinals on Wednesday and will compete for the backup role behind quarterback Carson Palmer.

There have been rumors, sources, innuendo about why he has garnered zero interest in free agency: His vegan diet has sapped his strength, his social activism will divide and distract a locker room, his worldly interests have made him less committed to football. True or not, the question is: Where are these criticisms coming from?

Blaine GabbertGetty Images

As time passes without so little as a conversation between Kaepernick and an NFL team being reported, many speculate the 29-year-old ended his NFL career by kneeling for the national anthem last season in protest of racism and police brutality and then opting out of his contract with the 49ers on March 3. According to multiple NFL writers, anonymous sources have spread these rumors in an effort to dilute the real motivation — that the NFL is blackballing the athlete who became the face of the national, highly controversial protest.

Even celebrities, both friends and NFL opponents, have shared their suspicions of Kaepernick’s exclusion.

“Just Had Brunch With My Brother Colin @Kaepernick7,” filmmaker Spike Lee posted on Instagram, attached to a photo of the duo, on March 19. “How Is It That There Are 32 NFL Teams And Kap Is Still A Free Agent? WTF. Smells MAD Fishy To Me, Stinks To The High Heavens.”

Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas offered an inside look into NFL management’s thoughts on an outspoken player like Kaepernick.

My thoughts re: @Kaepernick7? Teams don't currently view him as a starting QB, and NFL teams accept ZERO distractions from their backup QBs.

Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, a division rival of Kaepernick’s old team, didn’t beat around the bush, saying he is “sure” the quarterback is being blackballed because he still is good enough to start “on probably 20 of the teams in this league.”

Kaepernick completed 59.2 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions, but only had one win in 11 starts for the rebuilding 49ers. He also had an edge over the recently employed Gabbert in every significant statistical category.

Still it is plain to see that Kaepernick is nowhere near the player who led San Francisco to the Super Bowl in the 2012 season and the NFC Championship game the one after that.

Teams may feel turned off by his recent injury history, including shoulder surgery on his throwing arm in 2015 that cost him the 49ers starting job in the first place, as well as possible contract demands. While Gabbert’s contract with the Cardinals reportedly is worth the league minimum at $500,000, Kaepernick might be bargaining for a figure in the millions based on his NFL pedigree.

“They’ve asked, ‘Can he play? Does he want to play?'” Edwards said. “The last question I can’t answer. The first question, absolutely. If Kaep makes up his mind, he wouldn’t only go in and make a team, he’d put pressure on somebody to start.”